Yesterday we ended up with a very fine day in Niseko. The sun was out and we got some very nice blue skies.

Snow clouds moved in and by late afternoon it was snowing. The result is up to 20cm or so of lovely fresh dry light snow on the ground this morning in the village area. No doubt more than that up on the mountain. Snow is still falling now and visibility is pretty low this morning. A small price to pay.

It's not as cold this morning, right now around -4 degrees in the Hirafu area, and it's fairly calm with a light north westerly wind, so no worries about lift operations this morning - they should all be up and running as planned at the resorts.

The forecast for the coming week looks like we should see pretty consistent snowfall on and off and temperatures remaining suitably low. Sounds good to me.

A notable layer (Feb 13th) has formed due to yesterday's sunshine and 15-30cm of new snow has blanketed it. The pressure isobars are spaced out and the no notable development of snowdrifts can be observed under 800m. A moderate westerly wind (10m/s) is stagnating above 1000m and slowly forming soft slabs in leeward slopes. Large surface slab slide from Feb 13th layer is to be taken into consideration in 40°leeward slopes, however the general avalanche risk is low. The snow in the trees has been reset. Another magical day in Niseko.

Gates 2 & 3 are scheduled to open at 10am. Be equipped and well prepared for backcountry riding. Intermittent snowfall is forecasted during the morning and the visibility will remain bad. The are no indications in the out of bounds areas, ignorantly following other people or unknown tracks may lead you straying in the middle of nowhere. Carry at least a map. One easy mistake can lead to serious consequences in the backcountry. Beware of hitting trees and falling into cracks. Cracks are forming everywhere now and cannot be seen from above. Have a nice day.